


It's the Hap-Happiest Season of All (AKA the Happiest Season AU)

by SereneSerendipity



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, F/F, Gay Jokes, Happiest Season AU, Happy Ending, Lex is a woman, SuperCorp, additional luthor sibling, no one asked for this, non-evil Luthors, not edited, slight homophobia (only as much as the movie)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:20:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27874482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SereneSerendipity/pseuds/SereneSerendipity
Summary: Kara is ecstatic to finally meet her girlfriend's family this Christmas, except one small (big) problem....Lena never came out to them. Add in an overly competitive sibling relationship, the stress of Lionel's mayor campaign, and the reemergence of old flames, this is sure to be one heck of a Christmas season.OR....It's the Happiest Season AU!
Relationships: Kara Danvers & Winn Schott Jr., Kara Danvers/Andrea Rojas, Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor, Lena Luthor/Andrea Rojas, Lena Luthor/Jack Spheer
Comments: 34
Kudos: 137





	1. Chapter 1

Lena made a mistake.

Which, if you know Lena, is a very rare occurrence. In all her 24 years of life, she has carefully and successfully avoided most mistakes. Still, even with all her genius and IQ points, Lena Luthor is just a human at the end of the day and she has made a terrible mistake.

The morning light streamed softly through the windows, bypassing the flowy white curtains that Kara always insisted on leaving to the side anyways so she could see the night sky when they went to bed. Christmas music drifted softly up the stairs from the record player in the living room down below. Lena took a second to gaze forlornly out at the urban landscape of their city. 

Kara.

That was the mistake Lena had made.

Okay, maybe that can be taken the wrong way. Their relationship is the best thing that Lena has ever been able to call hers. The mistake that Lena made was concerning Kara, though.

Lost in the haze of twinkling christmas lights and cheerful carolers and Kara’s blue, blue eyes of their Candy Cane Lane tour (after it had derailed into being chased off a rooftop), Lena had breathlessly invited Kara home with her for her annual holiday trip back to the Luthor house. 

Except there was one small, little problem that Lena had forgotten.

She never came out to her parents. In addition, she had lied about that to Kara this past summer and said she did come out to her parents.

Lena groaned and buried her head into her pillow, The scent of Kara’s citrus and mint shampoo on it seemed to mock her. 

In her defense, she had prepared to come out to her parents during her summer internship with her father! Lena had even worked out the speech she would say to her parents and spent the months leading up to the internship preparing for every scenario of response she could think of in every silence. She had ran through every scenario except the one where she lost her nerve as soon as she stepped within the foreboding threshold of the Luthor house. 

She couldn’t help it. It was like magic had acted upon her, returning her mentally to her high school mindset and she just couldn’t bear to say anything to contradict the praises her mother and father heaped upon her for her graduation and the high hopes her father had for her following in his footsteps.

Then, she came back, and she couldn’t bear dashing Kara’s hopes of knowing her family and being known to them. She knew family meant everything to Kara because the blonde had lost her parents three years ago. And she knew how much Kara wanted to meet her family. She had started running out of excuses why the blonde had yet to meet any of the Luthors months ago.

So she lied.

And now she was sowing the seeds of her regret. 

Still, she couldn’t stay in bed forever so she pulled on her robe (a fluffy pink monstrosity that Kara had so cheerfully gifted to Lena for no reason when it started getting cold that Lena couldn’t bear say that it looked like a giant, wearable pink cotton ball) and hesitantly began her descent down the stairs. 

The smell of hot coffee greeted her as Kara precariously slid across the tiny kitchen’s linoleum floors with two mugs. By some miracle, the blonde didn’t spill a drop as she cheerfully handed a mug over to Lena.

Lena welcomed the hot cup of caffeine with gusto, taking several huge mouthfuls despite the fact it was still very hot, before taking in how Kara was still standing before her and beaming. “What’s going on here?” Lena ventured, already fearing the answer.

“I just woke up thinking about going home with you and got..” Kara bit her lip and ducked her head in an utterly familiar way. “Got very excited about Christmas.”

Lena felt her stomach sink. She was afraid of this. If only Kara had been more resistant to her suggestion that they both go to the Luthor house for Christmas, it would be so much easier to take back her careless invitation the night before.

“Oh baby...you don’t, you don’t have to come with me.” Lena tried to convey her pleading in her eyes, without trying to make it seem like she didn’t want Kara to go home with her. Because she did want Kara to go home with her! She absolutely did want to introduce the beautiful blonde to all her loved ones and vice versa, and show Kara all her childhood haunts, but not with the huge secret of their relationship hanging over her.

“Well, I want to.” 

“No, no, no, no. I feel like I really put you on the spot last night and-l understand how you feel about Christmas because you lost your parents and you just don’t have to—“

Lena was cut off as Kara climbed into her lab, automatically shifting herself so her girlfriend could sit comfortably facing her. Kara, usually so tall that Lena had to tippy toe to meet eye-to-eye, was now comfortably at eye level, which didn’t help Lena’s predicament to have those blue eyes that always seemed to look right into her soul staring right into her eyes. 

“No, no, I really genuinely want to go.” Kara’s eyes were big and Lena felt herself reluctantly softening, as Kara took both her hands. “I get to meet the people that made my favorite person.”

“Okay, but who’s going to look after all those pets?” Lena tossed as a last ditch effort.

“Winn’s gonna cover for me.” Of course Kara had remembered what Lena suggested last night as she had concocted this insane trip for the both of them and acted on it immediately. That was something Lena always appreciated about Kara, but very frustrating at the moment because it gave Lena no outs. She could only smile and smooth out Kara’s shirt over her strong, strong shoulders.

“I know why you’re worried,” Kara gently pecked Lena’s forehead,” but don’t be! I’m all in on Christmas. I’ll be the most Christmassy person ever. Yeah?”

Lena felt a smile beginning to form on her face despite the turmoil inside of her. Kara’s excitement and joy was just so utterly contagious. She hummed an affirmative before swooping closer to take advantage of the lack of height difference.

She could figure out the logistics later, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so begins the rewrite! There is still no proofreading or editing, though, so you are reading at your own peril!


	2. Chapter 2

Kara was on cloud nine as a waiter placed her and Winn’s coffees in front of them. They were at their usual coffee spot, the Vandal, where they served the best lavender white chocolate year round (according to Kara) and the only acceptable dark roast in the city (according to Winn). The two had found this coffee spot soon after they met at orientation at University of National City. Both had been wide-eyed freshmen with dorms right across the hall from each other and matching Disney door decorations. And now Winn was well on his way in publishing and editing and Kara was almost through her M.A in writing with a good number of publications under her name already. That was also how she had met Lena.

“So for the cat you can visit every other day, except he gets lonely because he’s the only pet so I like to drop by everyday anyways to watch some Brooklyn 99 with him. The dog and the fish need to be seen morning and night. I also like to visit the dog in the afternoon be—“ 

“Mhm” Kara felt her eye twitch a little at Winn’s response. They both had sat down and ordered coffee without him even looking up from his phone. She persisted on, though, because she wanted to make sure all her pets were going to be well taken care of. Well, they weren’t her pets, but she still cared for them a lot. They had spent almost every Christmas together for about the last four years!

“And the apartment on Kal Ave has a funky lock so you have to really jiggle the key when you’re locking it otherwise it doesn’t lock, but you have to make sure you do that”

“Yes.” 

Kara couldn’t stand it anymore. “Hey Winn ?”

He gave a noncommittal “hmmm?”

“What are you doing on your phone?” 

Winn gave a sheepish smile, “I’m sorry, I left a gentleman alone in my apartment and I’m tracking him to make sure he leaves.”

Kara had several questions, but she settled with “you’re tracking him?”. She’s always known Winn was into tech. She remembered how his side of his dorm room was always cluttered with various devices and always ran a little hot because of all the machines. But tracking seemed something “big brother government” or “super spy” instead of her booknerd best friend. 

“Yeah, I track everyone.” He glanced back down at his phone, “if the NSA can do it, so can I.”

Kara didn’t know how to respond.

“And he's gone! Sorry, what were you saying?” Winn’s big brown eyes met Kara’s as she offered him the instructions that she spent the morning typing out. Somehow, she knew that Winn would need something to refer to. 

“I wrote it all down.” She pressed the list into Winn’s hand, “They’re really specific directions, but if you need anything, you can obviously call me.”

“Kara,” Winn pressed his hands on either side of Kara’s, “don’t worry. I’m responsible for the careers of dozens of authors. I am more than capable of taking care of a couple of pets for two days.” He released Kara’s hands and took a long sip of his coffee.

“Winn, it’s for five days…”

“Five days! That’s what I said!” Winn gestured for the waiter to refill his coffee and patted Kara’s hand again with his own. “Relax, I got it.”

Kara just gave a nervous chuckle and sipped her drink.

After a while, and enough caffeination that Winn’s legs had started bouncing nonstop under their little table, Winn decided to join Kara on the rest of her errands for the day.

Well, there was only one thing left on her list for the day, and it wasn’t really an errand. Except, Kara was almost certain Winn would find something to say about it. A lot of somethings most likely.

“What is Ultrasuede?” Kara asked, as she opened the shop door. 

“It’s like this water-resistant fabric.” 

“Hello.” Kara greeted the shopkeeper as she stepped into the warm interior of the store with its glistening, gold trimmed glass displays. 

“Hi! Can I help you?” The brunette woman asked Kara.

“What are we doing here?”

Kara ignored Winn’s question in favor of answering the shopkeeper, “Yeah. I’m picking up. My name is Kara ZorEl.” 

The shopkeeper’s face immediately brightened, “Right! Of course! Just wait right here!” She seemed to glide away, “Please enjoy some champagne.”

Kara ducked away from Winn as he opened his mouth, no doubt with many thoughts on what they were doing in the store, but then the shopkeeper’s son swooped in with a tray of tiny champagne bottles and Winn was immediately sidetracked. 

Kara had done her research on the store. It was owned by the shopkeeper and her wife, who had settled in the city after their families had both disowned them due to their sexuality. After gay marriage had been legalized in all of the United States, they decided to focus their little jewelry store more on wedding and engagement ring choices for gay couples. It was the pride displays on the shelves that made Kara first stop by the store many years before she even had a reason to, and after chatting with both the shopkeeper and her wife, she knew that was where she would purchase an engagement ring when the time came.

It also helped that both women made an effort to ethically and locally source as much of their jewelry as possible, often displaying the work of local craftspeople. 

“Here we are,” the shopkeeper returned and held a little black ring box in her hands. “May I do the honors?”

Kara took a gulp. She knew what the ring looked like in theory. Afterall, she had designed it with the woman in front of her so that it would fit her and Lena’s relationship perfectly. “Please.” She whispered. 

The woman opened the box and Kara felt breathless. It was exactly what she wanted. The central diamond was lab grown (Kara had been horrified to find out about “blood diamonds”) and had a round cut. Around it were 8 other smaller accent diamonds in the shape of a flower. Kara wanted the ring to not only be meaningful, but also symbolic. And so a flower was perfect.

After all, one of the first things Lena had done was flood Kara’s little student assistant desk in the writing studio with bouquets. Kara and Lena had done weeks of exchanging flowers back and forth until Kara finally worked up her courage and asked Lena to dinner.

“There it is.” Kara breathed, carefully receiving the ring from the proud shopkeeper. 

“No.” Kara snapped her head to the side where Winn had popped up over her shoulder and shushed him. She thanked the shopkeeper and paid the rest of her balance off. The best thing about working with a small jewelry store was that she had the chance to come to an agreement with the store owners on how she could finance her ring. It was beautiful, definitely, but it also cost Kara a hefty part of her graduate student researcher stipend.

“Kara, you and Lena have the perfect relationship,” Winn began as soon as they stepped back outside to the chilly wintertime National City streets,” why would you want to ruin that by engaging in one of the archaic institutions in the history of the human race?”

Kara shrugged, “because I want to marry her.” She had been well prepared for Winn. She knew her best friend well and knew he would have many many thoughts about how she was carrying out the heterosexual traditions in her homosexual relationship. 

“Okay, you say that, but what you’re actually doing is tricking the woman you claim to love by trapping her in a box of heteronormativity and trying to make her your property.” Winn was so worked up by his conviction that his hands were flying everywhere as he made his point. Kara was familiar enough with this particular quirk and made sure to give him ample distance so she didn’t get whacked. 

“She is not a rice cake or a cake pan. She is a human being!”

Kara gave a little chuckle and shook her head, the gold highlights in her hair catching the setting sun, as they continued ambling down the street toward Winn’s apartment. “It’s not about owning her. It’s about building a life with her, Winn.” She shrugged, “Lena is my person and I really want everyone to know that.” 

Winn squinted at her. “I suppose that’s one way of looking at it. So when are you asking her?”

Kara bit her lip. “Well, I was going to ask her on New Year’s Day--” 

Winn muttered something that sounded suspiciously close to “sentimental lesbians” before quieting under Kara’s look.

“I was going to ask her on New Year’s Day, but now that I’m going home with her….” Kara steeled herself against Winn’s guaranteed upcoming barrage of accusations, “I understand that it’s very old-fashioned, but I’m probably going to ask her dad for his blessing and propose on Christmas morning.” She rushed out in a breath. 

She had come up with the new plan the night after Lena had asked her to go home with her for Christmas. It seemed perfect. There was no one else’s opinion Lena cared for more in the world than Lionel Luthor’s and Christmas was Lena’s favorite holiday. And also, a little selfishly, Kara was certain that it surely would be back her own love for Christmas.

Winn stopped dead in his tracks and turned to face Kara. “I’m sorry. Ask her dad for his blessing?” He said incredulously. He looked around, as if lost. “Way to stick it to the patriarchy, Kara.”

Kara just stood and smiled, tracing the ring box in her coat pocket.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> posting schedule? what's that? proof-reading? what's that?
> 
> The ring described is the "Fiorella Lab Diamond Engagement Ring" from Brilliant Earth with a round cut center diamond if anyone was curious what it looks like. 
> 
> Also, regarding the ring shopping, I know almost nothing about rings except what I spent ~20 minutes google search on. Please don't ask me what the financing even means.
> 
> ALSO: Kara isn't following canon Kara Danvers as in she was never adopted by the Danvers (because she was already 19 and in college and it follows the movie canon more).


	3. Chapter 3

Lena wanted to drive off a cliff.

Which she really might have considered doing if it weren’t for the vibrant blonde sitting in the passenger seat next to her. As utterly romantically tragic in a Shakespearian way a double suicide might be, even Lena would have to admit that doing so would be a bit too drastic just to get out of admitting to her girlfriend all her deceit.

The past two days had been killing Lena. She had tried to approach Kara about her lie and the situation they were walking into several times, but every time something or someone prevented her from actually getting a word in!

The first time she tried to admit it to Kara, the blonde had been attempting to slide across the kitchen floors to Lena again with beverages in hand, except this time she overshot it and crashed into the counter. The beverages shot forward and covered Lena in hot, very hot, chocolate and the moment was lost to the cacophony of Kara groaning in pain while trying to apologize and Lena’s shouts of surprise and then pain. 

The second time Lena tried to admit it to Kara, the pair had been on their evening walk together and the nighttime world was quiet and peaceful and Lena finally gathered up her courage again. But just as she eked out a “Hey Kara?”, two golden blurs had shot past, right between them and knocked Lena right onto her butt.

It turned out that Dory and Daisy, the two extremely friendly Golden Retrievers that lived down the street that Kara always liked to say hi to, had somehow gotten free of their brand new Christmas collars and spotted a squirrel (who was now dashing away for his life). That moment was lost as the two set out to help the two frantic families find their escapees.

They didn’t end up going back to bed until 2AM after scouring their community for two Goldens and returning them to their families. Luckily, Kara seemed to know exactly where and when the most delicious smelling hot dog vendor discarded his days’ trash (Lena didn’t want to ponder too long how and why her girlfriend was in possession of that piece of information) and they found the two dogs happily digging through the garbage cans. The families were overjoyed to receive their dogs back and insisted on Kara and Lena joining them for their weekly hot cocoa and Christmas movies night. Which, of course, Kara had immediately brightened at the invitation and Lena couldn’t say no to her pleading pout.

Then, as Lena tried to work up her courage extra fast in the frantic morning of packing, Kara always seemed to dance away. The blonde was notoriously bad at packing and Lena realized she should have just packed for her before, but every time she tried to confess, Kara ran away to grab something she forgot in another room or interrupted to ask Lena which sweater or blazer or pair of shoes she thought her parents would find more accepting.

It made Lena want to scream, but she knew Kara was just nervous and really wanted to make a good impression on her parents. So she swallowed it all in and helped the blonde with her packing even as she felt her stomach turn at the confession she knew she had to make before they got to their destination. 

She was sure that even her oblivious blonde had picked up on her unease as they have been driving with Lena’s Christmas playlist softly playing for background noise. Kara, usually an unending supply of chatter, had silently been watching the miles and miles of snow-laden conifers pass by them. Kara wasn’t one to pry, though, and Lena felt her throat clog with her appreciation for her girlfriend’s respect of her boundaries and privacy.

Lena took a deep breath. She had to let Kara know before they arrived, though. She had to. 

She couldn’t let Kara, all that beautiful and cheerful and goodness, walk unprepared into the Luthor Lair.

“Okay, there’s something that we should talk about before we get to my parent’s house.” 

Kara snapped her head from the window to Lena, a familiar crinkle forming on her brow. Lena hated herself for being the one to put it there.

“Do you remember last summer when I came out to my parents and told them we were together and they took it really well?” Lena started to maneuver them to the shoulder. This felt like a conversation she needed to have without the distraction of driving. Still, she kept her eyes on the road and her hands around the wheel. 

Kara silently nodded. Lena was so grateful for how Kara knew to let Lena go at her own pace. However, that made Lena feel especially like shit for what she was about to do to Kara, though.

“Okay, well that wasn’t exactly accurate.” Lena felt like her throat was closing up as she tried to get the words out.

Kara’s brow furrow got deeper. “They didn’t take it well?” 

Lena looked away from the road briefly, needing to see Kara’s eyes with her own. “Oh no, no, no,” she shook her head. She clenched her jaw.

Here goes. The point of no return.

Lena took a breath. “I didn’t tell them.” The words left with her exhale. At the blonde’s lack of immediate response, Lena felt fear rush into her. She turned away to distance herself from Kara’s inevitable response as much as she could in the small vehicle. 

“I was going to, and then Dad told us that he was running for mayor, and it just didn’t feel like the right time, and then now he’s trying to get the support of this donor and our whole Christmas is about impressing this person which is stressing my mom out even more than usual, and I just--.”

Lena felt like she was going to choke on her words, or maybe throw up, or maybe both. She took another deep breath and tried to sound something other than crazy terrified. Kara would understand her reasoning. She would! “I just know that if I tell them now, their reaction is going to be colored by all this other stress, and I’m sorry! I don’t think that’s fair! To you or to us.” 

Kara remained silent. Lena slowly faced Kara again to find her stone-faced and brow furrowed. “Then why did you invite me?”, Kara asked.

Lena felt her eyes stinging because well, it was her fault for getting caught up in the festivities and happiness and not thinking straight that led them into this predicament. 

“Because, we were just having such a special night, and,” Lena swallowed thickly, “ yeah, I got carried away. But it’s because I love you and-and I want to give you such a great Christmas.”

Kara bit her lip, her eyes stormy. “Well you’re off to a really great start.”

I'm so sorry.” Lena clutched her hands to her heart, feeling so helpless and guilty for the situation she has placed Kara in. Kara who was all goodness and kindness despite her loss, who didn’t deserve this kind of situation just thrown at her. Lena took a second to blink back her tears.

Kara sighed. “So who do they think I am?”

Lena lept on the lifeline that Kara was dangling. “My roommate.” she admitted.

Kara gave a strangled chuckle. “And we were roommates?” She questioned, a little mirth leaking in her voice despite her obvious displeasure with the situation.

Lena felt the corners of her lips tug upward despite herself. Of course Kara could find a way to lighten the situation even when it was all Lena’s fault.

“They don’t think it’s weird that you’re bringing your roommate home for Christmas?”

Lena grimaced, ready for the last vestiges of good will to leave her girlfriend as she admitted, “No, because I told them you have nowhere else to go because your parents are no longer with us.” She might as well give Kara the full picture of the depth of her lying.

Kara’s face hardened as pain flashed in her eyes. Lena felt the stone in her stomach get heavier, knowing that the blonde’s parents were still a sore loss to her even after the half a decade that had already passed. “No, I’m not going.”

“Look, this is actually a great opportunity for them to see how amazing and kind and smart you are. “ Lena desperately kept going despite Kara resolutely shaking her head, “You said it yourself! You’re great with parents, so they’re going to meet you. They’re going to fall in love with you, and then that’ll make it that much easier when I do tell them.”

Lena reached for Kara’s hand, which had limply fallen by her side, and clutched it with both her hands. “Look, I know I’m asking a lot of you. But I promise I will tell them everything after the holidays.” 

Kara remained for several moments, which felt like entire eternities to Lena as she tried to read the emotions flashing through those blue, blue eyes that she loved. The entire situation was utterly unfair to Kara and Lena knew she was asking the world of her girlfriend, still she hoped that, in all of Kara’s kindness, she would stay.

Kara’s body language answered before her words; Lena saw the way her strong shoulders softened with resignation. “Okay, we can do this.”

Lena gave her a small, hopeful smile.

“It’s five days. How bad can it be?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took so long because I REALLY struggle with writing dialogue and incorporating it in a way that adds to the narrative/moves it along. My apologies for inflicting my unedited practicing on you guys; I promise I'm working on it and will someday come back to edit this mess.
> 
> Also, the changes will start to be incorporated in soon! I really have no plan, though, so this may upend on itself...


	4. Chapter 4

This had to be the biggest house that Kara had ever seen before. 

She had spent the remainder of their trip mulling over her mixed emotions over how Lena lied to her and now she was going to have to lie to Lena’s parents who she was meeting for the first time. However, she set all that aside in favor of gaping at the sprawling red-brick home decked with festive wreaths and dusted with snow. 

Had she accidentally stepped out of time into a Christmas movie?

She let her marvel take her out of the car and grab her and Lena’s bags from the trunk. She only just caught Lena’s small, hesitant smile out of the corner of her eye as she gaped at the house before her. 

At Lena’s skittishness, Kara grabbed Lena’s hand. “Hey, I said we would do this, okay? We’ll make it through together.” Kara brightened at a thought. “Do you want to throw together a cover story? Like we’re secret agents.”

“Just be you, but like, ” Lena made a sound of hesitation.

“What is it?” Kara slumped her shoulders back down. What else did Lena have to be hesitant about?

“I mean, but don’t, you know, say that we’re together obviously, and ummm” Lena trailed off.

Kara furrowed her brow, waiting for her girlfriend to finish her thought.

“Maybe don’t mention that you’re…” Lena trailed off again, her eyes pleading with Kara to finish what she was asking.

“Gay?” Kara frowned. It had been so long since she was in the closet that she wasn’t even sure if she remembered how to be anymore. Did she act gay? You know, besides the having-a -girlfriend part. Were the clothes that she packed too gay? 

Lena nodded, relieved that Kara seemed to catch her drift. “Yeah, actually I think it’s better to just avoid the matter altogether because you can’t lie. You’re a very bad liar.”

“Wha-Hey!” Kara felt like she had been a great sport throughout this whole endeavor and didn’t deserve such an affront to her deception skills. “No, I’m not!” 

The door opened as they reached the doorstep, cutting off any additional argument Kara wanted to make in her own favor. 

“Hi!” A short woman with big brown eyes greeted the duo enthusiastically. Kara knew from Lena that she looked nothing like her mother, but it was still jarring to see how different they were in person. Maybe it was because Kara had always been told that she looked just like her mother. Where Lena was snow white skin and midnight black hair, Lillian Luthorl was warm toned and brown haired. 

“Wait!” Lillian stopped the duo from stepping in anymore and snapped a photo of them using her leather-covered iPad. Kara had to suppress a grin at how utterly motherly it was like, ignoring a pang at how her own mother had passed away before iPads even had cameras. Kara recognized the move from her aunt’s fussing, though. 

“Mom, what are you doing?” Lena hissed.

Kara appraised the situation, finding it utterly humorous that her usually very graceful and mature girlfriend was acting very much like a teenager.

“I started an Instagram feed for your father to give voters a peek behind the curtain.” The iPad dropped to reveal a proudly beaming Lillian, “Your mother is going viral!” 

Lena sighed and reached in to give her mother a hug, which Lillian returned with gusto before holding Lena at arm’s length to appraise her. “Look at you. You get more and more beautiful every single time I see you.” 

Lena ducked her head, her cheeks starting to turn pink with embarrassment at her mother’s antics. Kara found it utterly adorable and endearing and was only somewhat sad that she couldn’t verbalize that right then. Did friends call each other adorable? 

Kara bit the inside of her lip. She would bet that friends didn’t have the urge to kiss the pink-blossoming cheeks. Right?

“This is Kara!” Lena bypassed her mother’s prodding questions on if she had brought any concealer by gesturing toward Kara. 

Kara gave Lillian her best smile, which her own mother had once said could light up any gray sky. It was likely there was some motherly-consensus on her smile that she could use to her advantage, possibly.

“Hi, Kara.” Lillian’s eyes were sharp as she appraised the girl in front of her. Kara resisted the urge to fidget. “It is so nice to meet you.”

“It’s so nice to meet you, too!” Kara really had been wanting to meet the woman who raised Lena for a long time now, even if it was happening under circumstances that she never accounted for. “Thank you for having me here.”

Lillian gave her a smile. “It is nothing. Lena’s father and I are always happy to open our doors to those in need.” 

Kara’s smile was a little strained as she tried to ignore the pity underlying Lillian’s smile and tone. It was familiar to her, and she knew most people meant the best. It just wasn’t her favorite thing in the world. 

“Where’s Dad?” Kara was grateful for Lena’s interruption saving her from a response.  
“Oh, he’s on a call.” Lillian flippantly waived toward where Kara assumed Lionel Luthor’s office must be within the house. She was excited to meet him, too, and to see the office where Lena said she spent many hours of her childhood at her father’s elbow. 

“Oh, okay. Well-” 

“Lena!” The rest of what Lena was going to say was cut off as a blur of brown hair and green Christmas sweater enveloped her in a hug, knocking Kara a step back.

“Oh, Laura.” Lena’s voice was strained, though Kara couldn’t tell if it was from the pressure of her sister’s hug or from the conversation they were having. “I have asked you not to do that.” Her hands flapped uselessly on Laura’s back.

“I know. I didn’t listen.” Kara watched with amusement as Laura seemed to hug Lena even tighter.

“I didn’t think you’d be here, but here you are” Lena managed to say, despite how she must have been lacking air. She put her hands on her sister’s arms and seemed to be trying to push the brunette away.

Laura gave Lena another snuggle. “Oh, I didn’t want to wait one more second to see my little sis!” 

Lena finally succeeded in getting Laura to let go. She looked with concern at her hand. “On, what’s this?”

“Oh, I was changing the air filters! Sorry I’m a little sticky.” 

Kara allowed herself a smile at the sisters’ antics. She wondered if this was what Lena had been like with Laura as kids. It must have been adorable.

“Hi! You must be Kara!” 

Kara suddenly found herself enveloped in the hug that Lena was just subject to. She loved hugs! Except, even Kara found it a little difficult to return the hug because of how strongly Laura was embracing her. Briefly, Kara wondered if changing air filters would be a better work out than the kickboxing she does. 

The hug ended as Laura placed a firm hand on Kara’s shoulder. Her joyful face suddenly became very somber. “I’m so sorry about your parents.”

Kara was thrown off by how fast Laura’s mood had changed. “Oh, um, it’s okay! It was a long time ago-”

She was cut off as Laura cupped her face. “You’re so brave” Laura’s brown eyes were utterly sincere as she looked into Kara’s. “But you don’t have to be” And suddenly Kara found herself in another rib-crushing hug.

“Laura!” Kara appreciated Lena’s attempt to rescue her, but it did nothing.

“Mom, can you just---”

“Yeah, ok. Laura, that’s enough.” Lillian placed a hand on Laura’s shoulder and guided her daughter away. “Too much, Laura, too much.”

Laura gave Kara one more squeeze. “You’re always safe with--”

Lena cut Laura off as she dragged Kara by the elbow to the living room. 

“So this is our living room.”

Kara took in a wheezing breath as she took in the beautiful white cushioned couches, high arching windows, and gleaming piano. “Wow, that’s a beautiful piano.” She offered, still trying to recover from the hug and being dragged away with no time for recovery.

“Isn’t it?” Lillian started walking away, intent on getting the rest of the tour in. “Of course, I wish my children had bothered to learn to play it. It looks nice doesn’t it?”

Kara heard Laura faintly mention “I took lessons for eight years.” 

She didn’t get a chance to respond as she was shepherded by the Luthor women to a dark oak office where Lionel Luthor was speaking importantly into a phone.

He took one look at the crowd at his door and wrapped up his call. “There she is, my perfect girl.” 

Kara took a moment as the father-daughter duo hugged to note how Lena clearly took after her father. Both had the sharp jawline and piercing green eyes and midnight black hair. 

“Hi, Dad.” 

Lionel held Lena at arm’s length as he proudly looked her over. “Look at you.”

“Hi, Dad!” Laura chirped from behind Lilian and Kara. Kara tried to shift so she could be more visible to her father, but found it impossible because Lillian didn’t try and the doorway was too tight for it to not be a joint effort. 

“Laura! Glad you’re here. The internet has been a little spotty.”  
Laura groaned. “Oh, not again!” She stopped off to where Kara presumed the router for the house was. She was quickly understanding the role that Laura seemed to play in the Luthor household. Though, she found it weird that Lena never did seem to talk about Laura as much as she talked about Lex.

“This is Lena’s orphan friend, Kara.”

Kara’s brow twitched as she briefly registered her additional title, but she beamed brightly at the Luthor patriarch. He was always clearly Lena’s favorite parent, and most importantly, Kara planned on asking him for his blessing later so she had to make a good first impression.

“Hi, sir.” Lena gave her a look at her unusual show of formality, but Kara paid her no mind. 

Lionel placed a hand on Kara’s shoulder. “Terrible.” He said somberly and patted her shoulder twice. “There. There.” He turned back to his daughter.

Was that his attempt at consoling Kara for the loss of her parents? She wasn’t sure. 

“Lena, I read your piece about that senator. He’s got to resign, right?”

Lena seemed to glow at her father’s recognition. “Yeah, I think it’s only a matter of time.”

“That was a good piece.” Kara felt herself beaming as Lena stood taller at her father’s praise. Kara knew how much that must mean to Lena. 

“Aw, thanks Dad.”

Kara suddenly had a thought. “Oh, hey! You know what’s really good? The speech you made at the food bank on Thanksgiving!” She and Lena had watched it from their condo while they prepped their little Friendsgiving get-together. Lena had entirely paused in their prep so that they could sit down and hear every word of the Luthor patriarch’s speech, which Kara was very grateful for because now she could talk about it.

“Oh, thank you!” Lionel seemed pleasantly surprised that Kara had heard his speech which made Kara give herself a mental pat on the back, “You know, that speech wasn’t scripted. It just came to me!”

“Okay, enough shoptalk.” Kara felt a little bummed as Lillian began leading them away. She hoped she had made a good enough impression on Lionel.. “Let’s continue.” 

She found herself in an impeccably kept room in which the only clutter was the amount of ribbons and trophies. 

“This is Lex’s room. She’s my eldest.”  
Kara wasn’t sure what to say, but she figured stating the obvious couldn’t be a poor choice. “There’s a lot of trophies.” Plus, she knew how moms liked to boast. Or at least, her own mother had loved talking about her accomplishments to her group of friends.

“Yes, She was brilliant.” There was an odd note in Lillian’s voice and Kara noticed the distinct use of a past tense. “She and her husband, Evan--he graduated top of his class at Yale--were very successful attorneys.” 

A small crinkle formed on Kara’s brow. Okay, she was pretty sure that both Alexandria Caldwell nee Luthor and Evan Caldwell were alive.

“They gave it all up to raise their beautiful twins, and now they make gift baskets.” Lillian paused. “Which is great.” her tone made it sound anything but great.

Kara could only awkwardly smile in response.

“What’d I miss?” Laura’s sudden appearance was a gift as they shuffled to the next room. This one was cheerfully pastel with a closet door covered in posters of a boy band member that Kara faintly remembered.

“Is it hot in here? Or is it just him?” Laura crept closer to her closet door. “Yummy, yummy, yummy”

Kara cracked a smile at Laura’s antics.

“Okay, Laura, no.” Lillian pulled her daughter away from stroking the poster’s face as they headed to the next room.

Kara knew instantly that it was Lena’’s room. Not because her’s was the only one left, but because the color scheme was the same as their bedroom in National City. Something about the pale greens really comforted Lena and Kara liked it too.

Plus, there was almost just as many trophies in this room as Lex’s and they all proudly proclaimed Lena’s name. 

“Mom, I thought you were gonna turn this room into your office.” Lena was clearly embarrassed with Kara in her childhood bedroom, but Kara felt like she had earned this amount of tidbit into her girlfriend’s past and looked around curiously.

“Men need offices, dear.” Lillian clapped her hand as Kara picked up a frame with a high school-aged Lena and a boy. “Oh, that is Lena’s old high school boyfriend, Jack!” 

Lena’s eyes were huge as she yanked the frame out of her mother’s hands and tried to put it behind her back. “I asked you to put this away!”   
Lillian gave her daughter a knowing smile. “You know, he’s still single.”

Kara had to admit, she enjoyed the look of mortification on Lena’s face just a little. A little embarrassment about a past boyfriend couldn’t hurt her, and besides, it had been a rough day for Kara. 

“Okay, Mom. Stop, please.”

Lillian just hummed as she turned her attention to Kara. “Do you have a boyfriend, Kara?”

Kara widened her eyes, suddenly on the spot. “No.” She sweated a little. “But I have! I’ve had many!” then she thought about her words. “But not too many! An appropriate amount”

Kara floundered for a second, wondering how to make this more believable. “I actually just went through a breakup.” This time, she welcomed the look of pity on Lillian’s face. 

“Oh, no”

“Yeah, with, um…” Kara trailed off, “he was a a milk…” Shoot, what is a traditionally male role? “Man!”

“Okay!” Lena called from her spot on the bed where she had been eyeing Kara with increasing alarm. “I think we’ll just settle in now.”

“Okay. Well, we’ll just show Kara to her room.”

Kara looked at Lena in alarm. 

“What, is she not gonna stay up here with me?”

Lillian gave a chuckle. “Lena, I would never ask two grown women to share the same bed.”

Kara felt very strongly like she should ask why, but also knew that she definitely shouldn’t.

“No, Kara will stay in Laura’s old room.” Lillian continued.

Laura immediately brightened at her name being mentioned. “Oh! Oh! I could show it to her!” and Kara found herself being whisked away by the brunette. 

They ended up clomping down the basement steps as Laura proudly showed off the basement room. 

“Oh, your room’s in the basement.” Kara glanced around. She wasn’t expecting that considering the rooms of the other two Luthor girls, but it seemed warm and clean down here.

“Oh yeah, I had night terrors.” Laura waved like she was warding off the thoughts. “They put me down here so I wouldn’t wake everyone up.”

Kara gaped at her flippant tone as Laura walked in the room and turned on the lights.

“Behold! Cool, huh?” 

Kara could only nod at her.

“Is everything okay?” The Luthor matriarch made herself known as Kara dropped her duffel bag off at the end of the bed. 

“Yeah! Really good!” Laura chirped.

“No, not you.” Lillian seemed disappointed. Laura, however, was fine as she receded back from the conversation. “Thank you, Laura. Why don’t you go home and rest up a little bit before dinner?”

Kara was a bit affronted for Laura at the clear dismissal, but Laura seemed happy to give Kara a crushing side hug and her mother a peck on the cheek. “Okay, don’t have any fun without me!”

“I’m sorry about all the mess.”

Kara jerked out of her thoughts as Lillian addressed her once more. “What? No, this is so nice.” It seemed plenty cozy, even if there was lot of storage shelves lining one side of the room. The bed was big and the comforter seemed so warm and inviting after the day Kara had been through.

“Better than your room at the orphanage?”

Kara once again felt taken aback. “Uh. I-I wasn’t in an orphanage.” She pushed her glasses up. “Cause I was 19 when my parents died.”

Lillian nodded seriously. “Oh. One of the lucky ones.”

Kara’s brow crinkled. “Well..” How does one respond to such a statement? Was anyone who lost their parents lucky in any way?

“I’ll let you settle in. We leave for dinner at 6:45.” Lillian declared, turning to leave before Kara had even given her an answer. 

But she stopped as she left the room to turn back to Kara. “Oh, there’s no lock on this door. We had it removed because Laura was always scared that we would lock her in. “ Kara tried very hard not to react to that piece of information. “But don’t worry! You’ll have total privacy.”

Kara could only give a nervous smile.

“Okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As of this chapter, all the previous ones have been rewritten! Hopefully this is the path I'll continue with. Thank you to anyone who is still sticking around. Hope you have a very safe New Year's!


	5. Chapter 5

Lena resisted the urge to adjust her blouse as the hostess led them to their table. She knew Lillian would zero in on any outward sign of discomfort and Lena just really didn’t want to deal with explaining herself right now. She eyed Kara out of the corner of her, admiring how the cut of her blazer accentuated her girlfriend’s strong shoulders. 

“Actually, I think we’re gonna need one more chair.”

Lena snapped out of her daydreams regarding just how strong Kara was and looked at her mom in alarm. “Who is going to join us?” Lex wasn’t supposed to arrive until tomorrow morning, needing extra time to fulfill an extra important order. Or so she said anyways.

“Hey guys! How’s it going?”

Lena’s mouth fell open. Jack Spheer, in all his classic boyish charm, stood in a well-fitted tweed blazer and dark blue sweater that brought out those utterly familiar blue eyes. Lena had grown up knowing those blue eyes better than the back of her own hand. After all, the Spheers and Luthors had pushed the two together since they were infants. 

“Jack! How funny to see you!” Lillian was many things, but a convincing actress was not one of them. 

“You told me to be here at 7:00, right?”

Lena resisted the urge to face palm. She tried to catch Kara’s eyes to convey how much she did not know about this arrangement and did not want it to be happening.

Kara gave her a reassuring smile and a little shrug of her shoulders that said loud and clear she understood that Lena wasn’t at fault. 

Kara’s response shouldn’t have surprised Lena. She knew exactly how understanding and utterly kind Kara could be. But even the most understand people had to have their limit, right? Unable to verbally express her gratitude, Lena settled with sending Kara her warmest smile as Jack shook hands with Lionel.

He turned to hug her next. Lena found herself pulling away as soon as she could. There was just something about the warmth of his embrace and his scent that reminded her of the holidays in years past. All the times she ran to his house crying after some passive aggressive insult from Lex or a backhanded compliment from her mother. The nights they spent dreaming about what the rest of their lives would be once they escaped from this little town. 

Lena shook her head to rid herself of the nostalgia and refocused on the conversation. She watched nervously as Jack reached across her to shake Kara’s hand. 

The only thing more awkward than an ex meeting your current significant other has got to be when no one, including your ex, can know that your significant other was anything more than a friend. 

“She’s an orphan!” Laura chirped helpfully from Kara’s side. 

“Oh I’m so...sorry.” Both Jack and Kara looked at loss as to how to proceed with their meeting with that tidbit of information. 

Lena winced. Laura had never been good with social cues, but she wished to god that this be one time that she would help with the situation instead of making it worse. “Laura” she hissed in warning.

“What? She is!” Laura protested, over Kara’s head, as they sat down.

Literally, over Kara’s head. The extra chair that the hostess brought over was a good head shorter than everyone else and Kara was at shoulder height compared to everyone else. 

“Do you want to switch?” Lena offered, both to get away from being seated right next to Jack and to make things less awkward for Kara. 

Kara shook her head and patted the table, adorably so at her seated height (or lack thereof). “No, no.” She looked upward at Lena and mischievous amusement danced in her eyes as she met Lena’s. This is perfect” Lena blushed. She supposed it wasn’t often that Kara had to look upward at her for any safe-for-work reason. 

“And then in third chapter, the Shadow Dreamers discover that the gemstone that they thought was inside the gork was actually stolen by an evil floam, which is like a maggel, but with less arms and more powers” 

The table sat, seemingly struck silent by Laura’s explanation of her book.

“Oh, wow…that’s amazing, that really is,” Jack’s tone was one of someone who had grown up alongside Laura’s...eccentricities and Lena could tell that he had followed none of what Laura said, but didn’t want to hurt the aspiring writer’s feelings. Jack had always been good like that with Laura. 

Once upon a time, that kindness was what made Lena fall in love with him. 

Speaking of kindness, Lena glanced to her side and found Kara leaning on her elbow toward Laura, raptly bound by her explanation of the novel. She felt a rush of warmth toward the blonde, for so genuinely being interested in what Laura had to say. Lena knew that she and Lex didn’t treat Laura the best, but it was just so hard to keep her patience sometimes when Laura never seemed to get the message. Not to mention, Lena was always a little envious that her parents just let Laura do whatever made her happy.

“Laura, I can’t believe you’re still working on that book. It’s been like ten years.” Lena commented. Kara turned back to her and offered her a soft smile. Lena was pleased to see that Laura’s booktalk had managed to help settle the blonde’s nerves for their first family dinner together.

Laura raised her glass up. “It takes a long time to build a world.” She said, with an air of wisdom that was unique to Laura. It had always been.

“You know what I was thinking about the other day?” Lillian, picking up the dwindling attention at Laura’s booktalk, drew the attention back to her. “I was thinking about that trip that we took to our old house in Kansas when Lena got chicken pox.”

Lena felt a blush rising as she realized what story her mother was about to tell and opened her mouth to protest, but Kara beat her with an enthusiastic, “Oh! Lena told me this story!”

Lillian, pleased with Kara’s eager attention, continued “ then you must know that she- very quickly gave it to Jack.” And then wagged her finger at Jack who laughed. 

Lena felt her stomach drop as she realized she had completely omitted Jack in her retelling to Kara. She tried to see Kara’s reaction out of the corner of her eye without seeming too obvious. 

Lionel chuckled,” The two of them didn’t leave the cabin for the whole trp, if I remember correctly.” 

“Literally in a cabin running a fever.” Jack agreed.

“Together!” Lillian pipped in.

“Yeah, together. It was ground zero for chicken pox. That was fun” Jack nodded, good-naturedly laughing along. His face turned pensive. “You know, I really, really loved going on those trips.”

“We loved having you, son.” Lionel readily replied.

Suddenly, Lena felt like she could not stay at the table another second. Not with things seemingly returning to how it always was before she had left for college. Jack, utterly charming everyone and good, and her parents treating him like he was God’s gift to humanity. 

“Should we go to the ladies’ room?” She asked Kara, trying to keep her tone steady.

“Oh! I-I would hate to miss some of these stories.” Kara seemed torn between wanting to go with Lena and staying to hear more stories about her.

“No, we’ll be quick.” Lena tried to convey with her eyes how much she needed a moment alone with Kara. A moment without their ruse so she could remember that she wasn’t 16 years old and that she had built a life other than the one her parents planned for her.

Kara smiled apologetically to the table before following Lena. Lena was sure almost no one would miss her with the way her parents were busy fawning over Jack.

“I am so sorry! I had no idea he was gonna be here!” Lena burst out as soon as the two of them were in the bathroom. 

“It’s funny, I remember you telling me that story. I think you just forgot to mention that Jack was also there.” Kara’s tone was not accusatory like Lena probably would’ve been in her shoes, but it was clear that she wanted an answer.

Lena supposed it was fair, especially with the way the dinner was going for them. “I...I don’t know. He didn’t seem like an important part of the story.” Lena rubbed her temples, fending off the headache from their situation, “Look, I’m gonna talk to my mom, and I’m gonna make sure that nothing like this happens for the rest of the trip, okay?”

Kara looked at her, angling her head slightly down as their height difference had been restored as she drew Lena with gentle hands on her elbows. “You can be totally honest with me.” Her eyes were earnest and so utterly blue that Lena felt a little lightheaded, even after the year they had been dating, “Seriously, I can take it.”

Lena swallowed thickly. “Okay,” she whispered, closing in the distance between the two of them. Then you should know that it is very difficult to sit next to you at dinner and not be able to kiss you.” She glanced upward at the blue eyes she loved and rose up onto her toes, finally pressing her lips against Kara’s softly. 

She felt the tension melting out of her. Kissing Kara always felt like coming home, or like the warm glow of a holiday fireplace, or like the sun rising in the morning. Nothing in the world felt as right to Lena.

Lena cupped Kara’s face, allowing her weight to lean naturally toward her girlfriend, trusting that the blonde would not drop her. “No more surprises.” She pressed another soft kiss onto her girlfriend’s inviting pink lips, “I promise.”

Kara smiled, warm and loving. “Mm.”

They stood there for a second, enjoying finally being able to touch and speak to each other like they’ve been unable to since arriving at the Luthor house before they pulled apart. Lena knew they couldn’t stay too long. They would risk getting caught by someone coming into the bathroom. This was a small town, after all. 

She reluctantly opened the door and gasped, falling a step back.

In front of her was Andrea Rojas, all red lipstick, dark eyes, and tailored blazer. “Andrea.” She greeted, hoping her voice came out a lot more steady than she felt. 

“Lena.” Andrea greeted her, looking almost as surprised to see Lena as she was to see her. It had been a long time since the two were in town at the same time and Lena was almost certain Andrea avoided their hometown during the holidays on purpose. 

Kara made a noise, snapping Lena out of her thoughts. 

“Andrea! This is Kara!” Lena nervously introduced Kara. How much worse could this night get? Not only was Andrea another ex, Andrea knew things about Lena which meant that she probably knew things about Lena and Kara that Lena didn’t want anyone to know yet in their hometown. ‘Kara is my-”

“Orphan!” Kara pipped up, clearly trying to help but utterly failing to. The blonde’s eyes widened as she registered that was probably not an appropriate title for introductions. “Roommate! We--” Kara tried to correct herself and trailed off again. “I am an orphan, but we live together--” Kara grimaced, “but like as friends! Like, um, like acquaintances.”

“Oh please stop” Lena couldn’t stand and let Kara’s train wreck of a lie keep going. She wished a hole would open in the ground so she could fall into the circle of hell she deserved to go into, if only to stop Kara from trying to continue her lie.

“Nice to meet you. So I’m just gonna sneak on by you guys” Andrea’s dark eyes were knowing and glittering with amusement, but she stepped by them without further comment. Lena was sure that there would be consequences from this interaction. 

With Andrea gone, Lena returned her attention to the blonde. “Oh, God, Sorry…” Lena breathed out. “Sorry. Just..”

“Was that Andrea? Like the Andrea?” Kara asked.

“Okay, that one really wasn’t my fault!” Lena tried to defend herself. 

She felt her anxiety wane as Kara quirked a smile. “Hey who knows, maybe…” Kara’s smile turned bigger, but more mischievous, “maybe another one of your exes will bring out dessert”

Despite Kara’s comment being just a joke, Lena was on edge for the rest of the dinner. She didn’t have that many exes, but it seemed that every single one of them was gunning to make an appearance tonight. At least, the ones that would make her ruse with Kara the hardest would. 

Luckily, the rest of dinner passed by without too much more fuss. It was revealed that Andrea never seemed to be in town when Lena was anymore because the brunette had gotten a residency at Johns Hopkins. Lena tried not to think about how Andrea had once only dreamed about a medical school acceptance letter. It didn’t help that her parents made a backhanded comment about how Andrea’s parents must be so relieved considering their daughter’s lifestyle choice. 

Kara saved the day by charming Lionel into a conversation about art history and Lena’s father was happily recounting the museums he visited in Europe. 

Still, Lena felt like it was an eternity until they were back at the house and getting ready for bed. She toyed with her hair as Kara finished putting on her sleep sweater, an old worn grey thing that Kara insisted on keeping because it was “worn in”. “Tonight wasn’t the best.” Lena admitted.

Kara’s golden hair peaked through the sweater hole as she wrestled herself in. “Yeah. But we got through it!” Her eyes appeared as she made her way out, and Lena softened. She had been so worried that Kara would blame her for the way the evening had gone. It would be unlikely since the blonde had never judged Lena unfairly before, still it had been about as terrible a dinner as dinners go.

“You know, you’re right.” Lena walked closer to Kara, wanting to feel the blonde’s warmth as reassurance. “You are really good with parents.”

Kara beamed. “You think they like me?”

“Definitely.” 

“You think they like me as much as they love Jack?”

Lena laughed, pulling the blonde in for a hug. “Oh no, no” She pressed a kiss on her girlfriend’s neck. “But they don’t even really like me that much, so.”

Kara giggled; the sound warming Lena. She rose onto her tippy toes to press a kiss on the blonde’s forehead. “I love you”

Kara pressed a soft kiss to her lips and murmured “I love you, too”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We made it through the first dinner! Hopefully this makes sense... Thank you to everyone who is reading, who left kudos, and who commented! I wish everyone a very happy and safe New Year's!


	6. Chapter 6

“Yeah, Kara, I’m in the middle of something right now.” Winn’s voice was tense and immediately made Kara worried.

“Hi, Winn. I’m just checking on the animals.” 

“Oh, they’re all good.“ Winn gave another sound of frustration. What was he doing? “I walked the dog. Fed him, fed the cats. All are well.” There was clatter. Were those...puzzle pieces?

Kara furrowed her brows. “What about the fish?” Everyone always forgot about the fish except for her and the fish’s overworked nurse owner.

“Uh, the fish are--” Winn cleared his throat. “The-the-the fish are-are. Yup. Yeah.” His voice was oddly high pitched and Kara narrowed her eyes. “But enough about me! Have you managed to get a man’s permission to take ownership of an adult human woman yet?” 

Kara saw his ploy to change topics for what it was, but she honestly didn’t have it in her to deal with whatever happened to the fish. Winn could take of it; she trusted him. He had been her best friend since they were little undergrads in the dorms of National City University. “Not exactly”, she couldn't help how some of the glumness that had been weighing her down all day to leeched into her voice. 

“What’s going on? You sound tense.” 

“No, i’m not tense! I’m great!” Kara insisted, then slumped down. “Okay, there’s just one tiny thing. Lena isn’t out, and her parents don’t know we’re together.”

“Okay, you know what, I always felt like something was off!” There was an extra loud clatter on Winn’s end that made Kara wince. “You can’t go over a year without meeting your significant other’s parents. Trust me, I have tried.”

“I know…” Kara fidgeted with the blanket edge, “but it’s not that big of deal, because she does plan on telling them immediately after the holidays. “

“So, what, her parents are believe that their straight daughter brought home her lesbian friend for Christmas?” 

Kara cleared her throat, “no um...no they also think that I’m…” she faltered, the reality of her situation settling in now that she was telling Winn. “straight.” This really wasn't a good situation was it? Kara only dimly remembered what it had been like to be closeted. It had been a long time ago, but she remembered how unpleasant it was. That was without all the unconscious homophobia that the Luthors, sans Lena, seemed to throw around. 

Winn gave a shout of laughter. “Have they ever met a lesbian?” 

“It’s not so bad. It’s kind of fun having a secret…”

“Yeah, I mean, there’s nothing more erotic than concealing your authentic selves.” 

Kara frowned at Winn’s tone. “I know it’s not ideal. I--,” She squared her shoulders. “I know that it’s what she needs right now, so I’m going to be here for her.”

“Who are you?” 

Kara woke with a startle and fumbled for her glasses. Two little kids, eerily identical to each other, stood side by side at the doorway peering at her and waiting for their question to be answered. 

“I-” she cleared her throat, finding her voice rough from waking, “I’m Kara!” She smiled at the kids, unsure what to do.

“Do you work here?” One asked. The other looked at her in a way that felt...judging. These kids were definitely related to Lillian Luthor. 

“No, I’m Lena’s friend.”

“Kids?” An elegantly dressed woman came down the basement stairs. “What are you doing in here? Out!” At a glance, Kara could tell that the woman was the eldest Luthor. She had the same jet black hair and piercing green eyes as Lena and Lionel. She carried herself the same way as Lena. 

“But that’s our room!” The other child complained.

“Sorry about them.” The mother gathered her kids together and started shooing them toward the stairs. “I’m Lex.” 

“Why does she get to sleep in there?” One of the children complained. Now that they weren’t facing her, Kara couldn’t really tell which one was speaking.

“Hi! I’m--” Kara weakly rose a hand in greeting, but the family was already climbing up the stairs. “Kara.” She blinked at the now empty basement, finding herself more perplexed with the family as she met more of them, before rising out of bed to close the door.

When she had finally dressed herself (it was hard deciding which outfits were appropriate and not too gay), she found the kitchen in motion. Lex was dancing between the stove and the island countertop fixing something while Lillian was busy preparing something on another counter. Lena was immersed in preparing coffee. The kids blinked almost robotically at Kara from their place at the island barstools. 

Kara waved at them, but received no reply, as she awkwardly parked herself next to one of the island’s chairs. The children continued to stare at her.

Lena brought over a cup of fresh coffee to Kara and smiled at her before yawning.

“Are you tired?” Lex asked as she added blueberry eyes to her pancake snowmen. “Not me. I like the morning. But then, I have something meaningful to get out of bed for, so…”

Kara widened her eyes as Lex slid the perfect pancake, bacon, blueberry snowmen to the two kids who chorused a “Thank you, Mommy” in perfect sync.

“Snowman pancakes.” Kara knew trouble was coming from the arch of Lena’s eyebrows as she regarded the kids’ plates. “God, that’s a lot of work for something that’s just gonna turn to shit.” Lena took a sip of her coffee and titled her head, “oh, but that’s kind of like your law degree.”

Kara snorted into her coffee. She knew Lena could be scathing when she wanted to be, but she had never heard her be like that except the most deserving of corrupt politicians or businessmen. She never expected Lena to say those words to her own family.

“It must be so freeing to be so self-involved that you don’t realize that’s actually not appropriate language to use in front of children.” Lex met Lena’s eyes with a clear challenge. 

“We got everything out of the van!” A classically handsome man swept into the kitchen, both hands full of bags. Kara was infinitely thankful for the stranger’s interruption of what was surely going to be an all-out war between the two sisters.

“Thank you honey,” Lex pecked the man on the cheek. “Oh, this is--”

The man smiled at Kara, placed his bags down, and held out a hand to shake hers. “Kara! I’m Evan.” 

Kara smiled at him and shook his hand, “nice to meet you.”

He made a noise of concern,” a teaspoon of coconut oil would add some nice moisture to those hands.” He patted her hand as he released it and headed out the kitchen with his bags.

Kara furrowed her brow as she felt her own hands self consciously. Lena slid her coffee to her again and Kara gratefully took it. “So, you and your sister are pretty intense.” She commented to her girlfriend.

Lena looked at her with a frown. “What do you mean?”

“Freeze!” Laura's shout prevented Kara from pursuing her conversation with Lena. The blonde turned to find the middle Luthor pointing finger guns at Lex, who startled. “Don’t move one more muscle before I hug you!” The brunette wrapped Lex into what Kara was sure was a bone-crushing hug. She smiled at Laura’s antics. This was the first interaction today that didn’t perplex or confuse Kara.

“Hi Laura” Lex said, weakly patting her much taller little sister on the shoulders. Now that she thought about it, Lex was the shortest Luthor sibling. Even Lena, who stood half a head shorter than Kara was taller than the eldest Luthor .

“Oh hi!” Evan greeted Laura as he reemerged into the kitchen.

Laura immediately enveloped him into the hug too. “Hi, you guys! Hi!” She gave them an extra squeeze before allowing Lex to push her off. She danced toward the kids. “Gosh! You’re so big now! What are you? College students?”

The kids blinked at Laura. “We’re in elementary school.” The girl said. 

Laura blinked back at them. “Yeah. No, I-I know. I’m just.” She flailed her hands in a way that Kara related to after dealing with the twins once, “You’re just so tall, you know?”

“Here they are! My babies!” The Luthor matriarch pushed past Laura as she entered the kitchen and enveloped the twins in a huge hug. 

“Hi, Daddy!” Lex greeted the Luthor patriarch as he entered from the side door in running clothes. Kara sat up straighter. That was another thing that she could potentially connect with Lionel about. She enjoyed running, too!

“Did you get Lena’s article I sent you?” Lionel said to Lex in lieu of a greeting. 

“I did” Lex’s response was tense. Kara could tell that the lack of greeting bothered her.

“Good, right?” Lex only pursed her lips and turned to busy herself with cleaning up her kids’ plates.

“Morning!” Kara took her chance to greet Lionel.

He looked at her in surprise, as if having forgot she was there. “Morning, Kara.” He turned, “Hey girls, come here! I cannot believe; I’ve got all my daughters under one roof!” He said proudly as he drew the three sisters together. Kara was a little amused at how only Laura seemed happy about the proceedings. 

Lillian immediately whipped out her iPad. “This is great content! Hold it.” She fiddled with the device, trying to get the camera to work. Lionel, Lena, and Lex seemed to grow more uncomfortable by the second. “Smile!”

Lena and Lex broke away from the group as soon as the photo was taken, but Lionel had to peel Laura off.

“Daddy-” Lex began, but was cut off by Lionel’s phone ringing.

“Uh-huh, Uh-huh. Got it.” The man shut his phone and beamed at his family once more. “I have to shower, but we’ve got a big night tonight, girls!”

To Kara’s side, Lillian pushed Laura’s hands away from the cookie she was decorating. “No, that’s too much.”

“We’re meeting a major donor at the party. Lena, I need you to bring your A game.” Lionel continued.

“Got it!” Kara smiled at how proud and excited her girlfriend was to help her father. She knew how much Lionel’s mayor campaign meant to Lena.

“Dad, do you need me to do anything?” Lex asked, her arms crossed.

Lionel turned to her, “Honey, no” He patted her on the shoulder. “You just bring that beautiful family and show them off.” He looked at the kids and beamed. “Who knows? These might be the only grandchildren we ever have” He gave a meaningful look to Laura and Lena. Lena only smiled nervously in response, but the words were completely lost to Laura.

“And it is crucial that we take the family holiday photo for the Instagram tonight, so don’t wear anything that will strobe” Lillian looked directly at Laura, “Laura.” She warned. 

Laura nodded, “yup yup, okay.”

Kara was feeling a little overwhelmed. Lena gave her a concerned look and squeezed her arm reassuringly. “Who’s ready to go ice-skating?”, she called. Kara smiled at her gratefully, knowing her girlfriend was trying to find her an out from the chaotic and crowded kitchen interactions. 

Ice-skating was also something that had been on Kara and Lena's list forever. Lena loved being on the ice, but Kara had never gone and she was excited to have her girlfriend introduce her to something she loved. It should be fun and a nice break from all the tension, right?


	7. Chapter 7

Skating was not going how either of them planned. Lena glanced worriedly at Kara who was clutching the antlers of her skating buddy with a look of intense concentration. She had assumed Kara would take to skating like, well, how Kara always took to anything requiring athleticism. She still remembered standing and gawking at Kara shooting a bull’s eye arrow during their first archery excursion. Not to mention how easily Kara took to rock climbing and tennis, or anything else they had tried. 

“Are you sure you’re okay?” She asked Kara, eyeing how the blonde was gamely trying to walk her way across the ice. Lena couldn’t understand it. Kara loved roller blading, which should have been the same movement once the absence of friction was accounted for. But the blonde couldn't seem to understand how to glide instead of walk with her ice skates.

Laura was easily skating backwards in front of them, probably not even aware that she could be considered mocking. Lena would’ve shooed her away, but the brunette had been full of nothing but encouragement for Kara. 

Kara took a brief glance at Lena before focusing her eyes back on the ice. “Yeah, this is so much fun.” Her next step sent her clutching the antlers of her skating buddy. If it had been anyone else in the world, Lena would have assumed they were sarcastic or lying. But no, this was Kara and despite her struggling, she probably was actually having a good time.

At least it was better than the chaos of the kitchen they left behind. Without the oppressing walls of the Luthor house on all sides of her and her family’s rabble filling up her ears, Lena felt like apologizing. Something about being in that house with those people never failed to make her the most juvenile version of herself. She literally couldn’t help her response once Lex had come at her swinging, verbally of course. 

And speak of the devil, Lex, who had just been about to pass them, overcompensated for avoiding Kara’s near spill and almost slipped herself. 

Without thinking, Lena called out to her older sister, “Lex, do you need a helper?” 

Lex scoffed, adjusting her posture. “As if. I have always skated circles around you.”

Lena tutted, “Ah, but that was in your youth.” She internally crowed at the tick in her sister’s jaw at the jab at her age. 

“Please, I’ve lapped you like 12 times today.” 

Lena’s eye twitched, “Like I’m even trying!” She really hadn’t, having been so caught up on making sure Kara was doing okay and making sure Laura didn’t crash into anyone as she was skating backward.

“Like it would even matter.” 

Lena sucked in a breath. “20 bucks says I can do two laps in under a minute.”, absolutely caught up in a lifetime's worth of sibling rivalry. 

“50 bucks says I can do it in three.”

“Let’s do it,” Lena grabbed for Laura. “Laura, time us! “

Laura turned Lena’s tug into an annoyingly graceful twirl. “Oh, but I’m actually having a lot of fun just--”

“Laura!” Both Lex and Lena snapped at the same time. Lex was already carving out a starting line with her skate blade. 

‘Ok, yeah!” Laura swerved to the safety of the wall, guiding Kara with her. She shucked off her gloves and fished out her phone.

“Go!”

Lena pushed off, nothing but the thought of showing Lex up in her mind.

\----------------------------

“I love it when they do this.” Laura breathed.

Kara smiled from where she was clutching the sides of the rink. Were they designed for this? If so, rinks should make them a little more easy to grab.

“What are they doing?” Evan skated over to them, gliding over the ice in a way that made Kara utterly envious. 

Everyone in this family seemed to figure skaters or something. Kara briefly wondered if she should've practiced beforehand, but the point of this was so that Lena could teach her. Not that Lena was doing much teaching right now, Kara watched as she tore around the rink with her sister.

“They’re racing,” Laura helpfully informed him, hands clutching her phone probably for warmth. Kara felt sorry for how cold her fingers must have been. 

“Ah, yeah,” Evan nodded in a way that betrayed how typical this must have been. 

“Laura, time?!” Lena yelled as she passed them with Lex on her tail.

Kara knew how competitive Lena could be from their many board game nights together, but now she knew that was only the tip of the iceberg. Kara winced as Lena clipped a man she was trying to pass, sending the man skidding and complaining loudly while she scrambled to keep her balance. 

“Oops, I forgot to press start.” Laura whispered, eyes comically wide. Kara let out a giggle.

Evan shushed her, “don’t tell them that!” Kara privately agreed, for Laura’s safety. The three of them shared a brief moment of mirth, picturing the sisters’ reactions when they found out.

Lex overtook Lena with a victorious laugh, but ended up fully crashing into a loose skating buddy. Kara was impressed at how fast she climbed back to her feet, ice still clinging to her backside.

“Should we stop them?” Kara murmured to Evan and Laura, feeling like she was witnessing a train wreck she couldn’t look away from.

Evan made a noise. “Nah, they’ll tire themselves out eventually.”

“Yep, that’s the way it goes!” Laura chirped brightly next to Kara. Kara had a feeling that they couldn't stop the sisters if they tried.

The sisters passed them again, shoving each other in a way that seemed utterly dangerous considering they were on blades. 

“I love you guys! I love you!” Laura called out. Kara could only watch in horror as they red-rovered a couple and sent the man careening into the side of the rink. 

\----------

Kara leaned heavily against the doorway, watching Lillian trying to arrange her family in front of the tree. It was evening now and they were supposed to be headed for Lionel’s big benefit event, but Lillian insisted on capturing their Christmas Instagram photo before they left. 

Not being a part of the picture, Kara had a moment to take in the Luthor's Christmas tree. Apparently, Lillian had professional decorators put the wreaths up outside and decorate the tree. The tree, as a result, was beautiful, smelled amazing, and was one of the biggest Kara had ever seen. 

However, all Kara could think of was a little fake tree in a tiny apartment loaded with every style of bauble that she or either of her parents liked. The ZorEls, having immigrated when Kara was 5, struggled to find jobs in a country that did not recognize the universities they attended in their motherland, but found so much wonder and joy in Christmas. They did everything they could every year to incorporate America’s Christmas traditions. The tree was the best of all. 

Kara remembered barely being able to stand still with her excitement as her father pulled the tree out of their closet storage space. Her mother would put the tree together and fluff up the artificial branches that had been smothered in a box for a year. Then, the three of them would take their time carefully choosing where each bauble and ornament went with Christmas music crooning from the radio. 

And when they turned that tree on, well, Kara felt like nothing in the world could ever be more beautiful. 

Except now, that is. Kara felt her jaw drop as Lena descended the steps in a beautiful black dress with snowflake-like cutouts that seemed to make the glimpses of her alabaster skin glow. Her lips were painted sinfully red and her emerald eyes glittered from the lights of the Christmas tree. Kara felt like her younger self had no idea what she was thinking because this….this had to be the most beautiful sight in the world. 

“Wow.” She breathed to Lena as she reached the bottom of the stairs, at a loss for any other words.

“It’s my early Christmas present,” Lena breathed back, eyes taking in Kara’s choice of a jet black blazer and fitted slacks. Kara felt her straightening out at her girlfriend’s appreciative gaze. At that moment, Kara wished that they weren’t living a lie just so she could kiss her girlfriend like she wanted to. 

“Lena! Please come here.”

Lena shared one more glance with Kara that suggested she wished for the same thing before moving toward the group huddled by the tree.

“Honey, we’re very late.” Lionel reminded Lillian.

“Lionel, the Christmas photo is an essential element of every candidate’s feed, and if we cannot manage to post one, we do not deserve to have the account at all.” Lillian finished her lecture and frowned at the group. “Laura, get out of the middle.”

Kara frowned for Laura as she was pulled to the other side of Lena so that Lena could be in the middle of the photo. Then, she was being handed Lillian’s leather encased iPad. “Kara, do you mind taking this?” It didn’t really feel like a question, but Kara agreed, happy to get some positive interactions with Lillian.

“Everyone say Christmas” Kara sing-songed at the gathered Luthors. 

“No, don’t say that” Lillian glared at Kara, “just smile.”

Kara bit her lip, but took the photo as instructed without further comments. She handed the iPad over to Lillian as the rest of the Luthors filed out the door.

“Blurry. Blurry. Boring. Nope” Lillian shut her iPad case with a clap that made Kara wince, “We’ll just have to try again tomorrow.” 

Kara’s stomach sank. She wasn’t a pro, but she was almost certain that her photos were pretty good. She took quite a few of them to make sure, too.

At Lena's call, Kara leapt at the chance to get away from the disappointed Luthor matriarch and hurried outside. 

The two cars were already loaded, but it seemed that Lena was sitting shotgun next to her father, probably so she could be briefed more on who was important to impress. While Kara knew how important the benefit was for Lionel's campaign and the big role that Lena played, she took a moment to selfishly wish for a seat next to Lena. Most because she was left with the seats in the middle of the SUV and the back row. Kara, knowing that Lillian would most likely sit in the middle seats, did not want to face the Luthor matriarch again so soon after her failed photo attempt.

Laura waved from the back row and Kara felt a surge of gratefulness and affection for her.

“The seat belts are funny back here.” Laura whispered as Lillian complained about their haste and the failed Christmas photo. “You gotta dig for the other end.” She stuck her tongue out in concentration as she fished between the black leather seats on her side, “see?”

Kara gave a little chuckle and copied the brunette’s instructions. Maybe the night wouldn’t be so bad if she at least had Laura.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next is the party! Thanks to everyone who is still reading!


End file.
